Thursday 25 February 2010 11.58 EST
First published on Thursday 25 February 2010 11.58 EST

There was, presumably, clog dancing in the streets of Wakefield last night following the news that forced Yorkshire rhubarb is joining the hallowed ranks of champagne, Parma ham, Roquefort cheese and Kalamata olives on the EU's list of protected foods. Sniggering whenever Geoffrey Boycott insists his mother could play the bowling with a stick of rhubarb will now have to be curtailed.

That's enough Yorkshire cliches. The indoor forced rhubarb, grown in sheds and traditionally harvested by candlelight to preserve their blushes and maintain their sweet flavour, has been recognised by the European commission, after years of petitioning.

Chefs of the calibre of Rick Stein and probably every true Yorkshire man and lass have maintained their crop is far superior to its weedy Dutch rival, not to mention the tough, stringy greenish version grown on thousands of allotments.

The decision means no producers of rhubarb grown outside the West Yorkshire triangle between Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield will be able to claim the designation commercially. To forestall tabloid headlines about the damp rag-wavers of Brussels banning the rest of our rhubarb, the decision does not mean outdoor varieties will be rooted out – they just cannot be passed off as the indoor Yorkshire version.

The EU's Protected Designation of Origin classification is not entirely exclusive. Nearly 1,300 foodstuffs are listed, including 41 from Britain, ranging from Cornish pasties to Melton Mowbray pork pies, Arbroath smokies, Scottish farmed salmon and Newcastle Brown Ale – even though it is brewed in Gateshead. Also on the list are Spanish and Italian hams, piles of French, Dutch, German and English cheeses and even Darjeeling tea from India.

Hilary Benn, the Environment and Agriculture minister, who hails from the south but represents a Leeds constituency in parliament, made the announcement. He said in a statement: "Yorkshire forced rhubarb has been recognised thanks to the quality of this traditionally grown product and the enthusiasm and commitment shown by all involved."

Jonathan Knight, chief executive of the Yorkshire and Humberside regional food group, said it was a great achievement for the region, achieved after six years: "We chose the rhubarb because of its heritage and the traditional methods still used – patience and persistence. A lot of effort on all parts has culminated in a fantastic result which will help confirm the unique Yorkshire rhubarb triangle as the home of forced rhubarb."

Rhubarb was first grown in the area in the 1870s and at one stage there were more than 200 commercial operations, which have now dwindled to a handful. The triangle offers ideal growing conditions, with a deep, cold and moist topsoil. Formerly at least, a supply of shoddy from local woollen mills also made for ideal fertiliser and coal to heat the sheds and maintain a temperature of 50C. Growing a harvestable product takes up to three years, with the plant initially being grown outdoors and subjected to a specified number of frosts, before being taken into darkened, heated sheds to complete the process.

Janet Oldroyd, of the Yorkshire Rhubarb Growers Association, said: "To the 12 growers left in the rhubarb triangle, a future is now certain. To the hundreds of farmers long since gone, this is in part recognition of their hard work, dedication and steadfast belief in their product that has kept this industry alive since the early 1950s.

"The public will be certain that our product is exactly of the quality and flavour expected of forced Yorkshire rhubarb as all producers must not only be in the designated area, but will be extensively audited, ensuring traditional production methods are maintained."

The designation opens the possibility of more adventurous recipes stretching beyond the traditional crumble. One website already lists more than 100 possibilities, from rhubarb soup to muffins and punch (boil two pounds of rhubarb, sieve overnight, add three-quarters of a cup of granulated sugar, the juice of one orange, one lemon and three-quarters of a cup of soda water, refrigerate and serve).

Gary Verity, chief executive of the Welcome to Yorkshire tourism agency, said: "It will put Yorkshire rhubarb on the cultural map." As if it wasn't there already.